心理学与生活-第24章
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in similar research。 An argument can be made that the more closely an animal is related to humans； the
more like a human it should be treated。 According to this reasoning； chimpanzees should be treated like
human participants。 Thus； there is a quandary between how generalizable animal research is to humans
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CHAPTER 2： RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
and how much like humans animals should be treated。 What do your students think about this line of
reasoning？
Experimental Design
The overarching goals of the following exercise are to demonstrate how psychology and the scientific
method can be used to address issues that interest your students； to teach them how them how the concepts
they are learning influence experimental design； and to impress on them an appreciation for the challenges
faced by experimental psychologists。 Lead your class through the process of designing an experiment。 Start
with a hypothesis generated through brainstorming by the class。 Allowing your students to provide the
hypothesis ensures that it will interest them and that they will stay engaged。 Students may start with topics
such as alien abduction； crop circles； and the Loch Ness monster。 Wele this； as it gives you a terrific
opportunity to talk about alternative explanations； existence proofs； and the fact that some topics； such as
the proof of the existence of God； remain firmly outside the boundaries of science。 The scientific method is
not a panacea； it is a highly structured method for testing measurable factors and relationships。 After your
class has agreed on an issue to test； lead them toward a consensus； testable hypothesis about the issue。
Once your class has clearly defined a hypothesis； lead them through a discussion of possible alternative
explanations。 Challenge their hypothesis and their beliefs。 Are there other possible explanations that are
more simple and more likely？ What assumptions and possible biases underlie their hypothesis？ How
would the hypothesis （and their assumptions and biases） generated by your class be different than
explanations put forward by people from different cultures and different times？ You might want to mention
that spirit possession was a widely held explanation for mental illness until relatively recently。 After listing
a number of possible alternative explanations； allow your class to suggest a very basic methodology for
testing the hypothesis and eliminating the alternative explanations。 You might want to give them a head
start by suggesting the kind of data that they would need to collect to measure the variables of interest。
Depending on the hypothesis chosen and the sophistication of your class； outlining a reasonable
experiment may be a difficult process。 If the class begins to show signs of overload； you can quickly switch
gears and use the exercise to demonstrate the difficulty in designing and executing well…controlled
experiments。
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES
Sir Francis Galton （1822–1911）
Few psychologists are credited with more firsts than Galton； the cousin of Charles Darwin。 A child prodigy；
Galton could read by 2。 years old and by six was reading Shakespeare for pleasure。 He graduated from
Cambridge University in 1843； but never obtained a graduate degree。 Because he was independently
wealthy； as were many early psychologists； Galton was free to follow his passion； and his passion led him
to measurement； first of geography and then of humans。 Galton first gained fame as a cartographer for the
Royal Geographical Society on a trip to Africa。 On his return to England； Galton took his cousin’s notion of
the importance of individual differences to evolution； and set about measuring these differences in humans。
Galton was the first to use questionnaires； the first to study the nature–nurture controversy； the first to use a
word…association test； the first to study twins； and the first to study intelligence testing seriously。 Galton’s
work also spawned the creation of the ubiquitous correlation coefficient； r； by his student Charles
Spearman。
Edward Titchener （1867–1927）
Edward Titchener attended Oxford from 1885 to 1890； where he became interested in experimental
psychology and translated Wundt’s Principles of Physiological Psychology into English。 After graduating
from Oxford； Titchener spent two years studying with Wundt in Leipzig。 After receiving his Ph。D。 in 1892；
Titchener took a job at Cornell University； where he remained for his entire career。 While at Cornell；
Titchener developed a thriving department and became the leading exponent of structuralism in America。
Titchener adopted Wundt’s technique of introspection to the study of observable conscious events and
sought to describe the contents of mental life。 Although not successful in his goal of creating a periodic table
of mental events； much like the periodic table of physical elements； Titchener exerted a profound influence
over the development of psychology in America； through both his ideas and the ambitious research
program that he led at Cornell。
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CHAPTER 2： RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
TIMELINE
Year Event
1811 Charles Bell and Francois Magendie discovered that there are two types of nerves： sensory and
motor nerves。
1827 Ludwig von Beethoven died。
1838 Johannes Müller articulated his “Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies。”
1846 Ernst Weber derived the quantitative relationships between subjective experience and physical
stimulation； known as Weber’s Law。
1848 Marx and Engels published the munist Manifesto。
1859 Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection； a culmination of his
research and thinking about evolution via natural selection。
1860 Gustav Fechner published Elements of Psychophysics； which outlined the experimental study of
the relationship between subjective experience and physical stimulation。
18611865
The American Civil War was fought。
1872 Claude Monet painted Impression—Sunrise； Le Havre； the painting that lent its name to the
Impressionist movement。
1885 Hermann Ebbinghaus published his empirical research on memory。
1890 William James published the Principles of Psychology； a two…volume text that became the
standard reference for psychology students。
1896 Thomas Edison invented the motion picture。
1898 Edward Thorndike conducted the first systematic experiments on animal learning。
1905 Alfred Binèt and Theodore Simon developed the first useful intelligence test。
1906 Charles Sherrington published Integrative Actions of the Nervous System； which set forth the basic
principles and terminology used today to describe the structure and function of the nervous
system。
1913 John Watson published “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It；” sometimes referred to as the
Behaviorist Manifesto； an influential paper asserting that psychology should restrict its subject
matter to observable behavior。
19141918
World War I was fought。
1928 Ivan Pavlov published Lectures on Conditioned Reflexes； a survey of his research on classical
conditioning。
1938 B。 F。 Skinner published Behavior of Organism： An Experimental Analysis； which outlined the basic
principles of operant conditioning。
19391945
World War II was fought。
1946 The American Psychological Association was reorganized to include practitioner psychologists；
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
as well as research psychologists。
1950 William Estes published “Toward a Statistical Theory of Learning；” a classic paper outlining a
mathematical approach to learning。
1957 Noam Chomsky published Syntactic Structures； inaugurating an era of productive collaboration
between psychologists and linguists。 Psycholinguistics soon became a flourishing field of
psychology。
1957 Herbert Simon published Administrative Behavior： A Study of Decision…Making Processes in
Administrative Organizations； detailing the dynamics of decision making under conditions of
uncertainty。
1962 David Hubel and Thorston Weisel published their research on how specific features of visual
stimuli excite specific neuro
